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Coronavirus: Opelousas Catholic students transition to distance learning during pandemic

Blaire Emonet, pre-K-4 teacher at Opelousas Catholic School, teaches her students about the letter X through a video she shared on the online learning platform Seesaw. The school has transitioned its students to distance learning as schools remain closed to stop the spread of COVID-19.(Photo: Blaire Emonet)

Opelousas Catholic School students from 4 years old to 12th grade have transitioned to distance learning with videos from teachers and online assignments.

As schools closed to stop the spread of COVID-19, the school loaned Chromebooks to families without computers and shifted to a new reality of learning from home.

Teachers deliver lessons, post assignments and monitor students' progress through different online platforms, and email has been vital in connecting educators and families, according to the school.

Pre-K-4 teacher Blaire Emonet has been using the remote learning platform Seesaw, which she describes as "Instagram for the classroom."

Blaire Emonet, pre-K-4 teacher at Opelousas Catholic School, responds to students' work and monitors their progress via the online learning platform Seesaw. The school has transitioned its students to distance learning as schools remain closed to stop the spread of COVID-19.(Photo: Blaire Emonet)

She uses it to share videos of herself reading to her students or playing games with her own five kids, who stand in for her students.

She has them sort and count the different types of marshmallows in Lucky Charms cereal before creating a pattern with them. She holds up a small white board and writes an uppercase X, which they'll trace later on Seesaw.

"My goal right now is to make the transition for them engaging, innovative and comforting," Emonet said. "It can be a hard transition, especially for the little ones. They're really enjoying that face-to-face contact."

She uses Seesaw to give assignments and communicate with families, sharing ideas for parents to get hands on with students to create art projects or science experiments.

"It's an opportunity to do that at home and make it fun," Emonet said.

Another way she's bringing the classroom to her students is by continuing a tradition they started together before schools closed.

Blaire Emonet, pre-K-4 teacher at Opelousas Catholic School, is still using her class's Lent prayer chain to stay connected with her students. Each day she records herself praying over a different link in the chain and sends the video to families via the online learning platform Seesaw. The school has transitioned its students to distance learning as schools remain closed to stop the spread of COVID-19.(Photo: Blaire Emonet)

They created a paper prayer chain, and each construction paper link included three items a student wanted the class to pray for over the Lenten season.

So Emonet is recording herself each day praying over a new link and sending the videos to her students.

"We pray for somebody's puppy dog and someone's mom who's having a baby," she said. "And they get excited when it's their (request)."

High school math teacher Sandy Huval has seen a pretty seamless transition when it comes to the technology her students are using for distance learning. Much of it she already was integrating into her classes this year.

She'd started her seniors on My Math Lab, because it is the same or similar to what they would use for their first year in college.

"I wanted them to get used to the format, so it was important to me to incorporate a digital platform," Huval said.

Opelousas Catholic School student Emma Boudreaux completes assignments from home while schools are closed to help stop the spread of COVID-19.(Photo: Opelousas Catholic School)

She's also been using Google Classroom like usual and has incorporated google Hangout and Google Meet to conduct live session with students, where they can ask questions and get immediate feedback.

Huval said constant communication has been key, both for learning and for helping kids find that normalcy and steadiness that a school routine usually provides.

"I want them to be busy — not stressed, but occupied and keeping everything fresh," Huval said.